Knights dominate for 64-16 win

ST. JOHN - The Sunnyside Christian Knights were ready for battle this past Friday and found themselves coming home from St. John with a 64-16 victory.

"Our offense obviously ran the ball well and our line really did a great job blocking to create openings," said Coach Ray Hernandez.

Sunnyside Christian (2-2, 3-4) was able to get an early lead and was ahead by 40 points (50-10) at halftime.

That's because quarterback Wyatt Hoff was making his connections and the ball carriers were running away with the pigskin.

Hoff was 4-for-6 through the air, throwing for 64 yards last Friday. He made a 30-yard pass to Drew Puterbaugh, who spotted an opening in the St. John-Endicott defense and ran the ball into the end zone.

Brandon Broersma also scored a 15-yard touchdown from one of Hoff's passes.

Luke Wavrin of the Knights recorded 13 carries for 272 rushing yards and five touchdowns; John Newhouse had 16 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown.

"John is on track to 1,000 yards rushing this coming Friday," Hernandez noted, stating he believes Newhouse is going to set a school record.

In the second half, it was Ryan Bangs of Sunnyside Christian that scored a touchdown on a 35-yard run.

"We missed a couple of two-point conversions, but my offense played very well," said Hernandez.

On defense, he noted there were some stand-out moments from CJ Dalrymple.

"He had some big tackles on the kick-offs," Hernandez said.

Alex Prins, he said, was also playing in his first varsity start. "He did really well," said the coach.

"This was a big game for us...it gave us our third win on the season and it was our first time winning a second league game," Hernandez said.

"I think this Friday will be good...we play Colton and their quarterback likes to throw the ball," he said of the game coming up.

Hernandez said the Sunnyside Christian defense will need to place a lot of pressure on the Wildcat QB.

"We are a little concerned about their passing game...we want to flush the quarterback out of the pocket and get him to throw the ball away," said the Knights' coach.

On offense, he believes it is important to break down Colton's defense by wearing them out.

"Our offense can grind down the defense if we keep doing what we have been doing," said Hernandez, adding, "I think we can make opportunities by opening up their defense."